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Overview

What price is too high to pay, even for love? Plunge into fifth installment the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and “prepare to be hooked” (Entertainment Weekly).

The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon.

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

City of Lost Souls

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

The fifth volume of Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series follows the last image of City of Fallen Angels: Jace has fallen under the spell of Sebastian. Bound so closely, he seems impossible to save. Only a few of his friends attempt this perilous mission. Meanwhile, Clary has entered her own heart of darkness, vowing to risk her life to save her beloved from his evil enthrallment. Love, betrayal, and danger in hip high style. Now in trade paperback and NOOK Book. (P.S. Fans continue to watch for the beginning of productions for the filming of Clare's City of Bones, based on the second Mortal Instruments book.)

From the Publisher

* "If a cliff-hanger can be considered satisfying, then this book delivers."--VOYA, *STARRED

"The Mortal Instruments series features a rare marriage of extremely intricate, fast-paced plotting with ample digressions into the emotional lives of characters we’ve come to care about deeply. . . . With a movie in the works, this is an excellent time for new readers to jump on board one of the most enjoyable series in YA. Smart, fun, and epic, these books are addictive for all the right reasons."--Locus (Gwenda Bond)

VOYA
- Stacey Hayman

It has been two weeks since Jace and Sebastian disappeared off the rooftop, leaving no traceable clues behind. Clary, the Lightwoods, Magnus, Simon, and the Clave are all on the hunt, hoping to save Jace and end the threat of Sebastian. Learning that the two are irrevocably bonded—harm one and they both bleed, kill one and they both die—and witnessing Jace's willing acceptance of Sebastian's directives are not enough to dissuade Clary from taking the risky, or foolish, opportunity to go on the run with Jace. Can Clary discover Sebastian's dark plan and reveal it to "Team Good" in time? Can Jace be saved from Sebastian's destruction, or even from himself, in the end? As the relationships of the main and secondary characters continue to develop through this fifth book in the contemporary series, there is a greater focus on the somewhat bumpy progression of previously established couples and the introduction of newly defined pairings. There are particularly sweet moments shared between Magnus and Alec and Simon and Isabelle, as the two couples receive well-deserved time in the spotlight. It can be inferred that two of these couples are having sex, but nothing is addressed directly. Some readers might be unsettled by Sebastian's romantic interest in his sister, but his lack of recognizable human emotions makes this both more and less understandable. More of the Shadowhunter mythology, as well as the Downworlder society, is explained, giving longtime fans new details to ponder and dissect during lengthy discussions of what might lie ahead in book six, City Of Heavenly Fire. If a cliff-hanger can be considered satisfying, then this book delivers. Reviewer: Stacey Hayman

Children's Literature
- Magi Evans

The hunt for Jace is on, but since he is now bound to Sebastian thanks to Lilith’s curse, Sebastian must be found as well. The Clave wants Sebastian because they believe he has a secret plan that would end the Clave’s power, if not its very existence. Clary wants Jace because life without him is unbearable. But is Jace really the boy she fell in love with, or has the spell that bound him to Sebastian simply made him Sebastian’s slave? One thing is for sure—anything that hurts Sebastian will also hurt Jace, and vice versa. The Clave would happily kill Sebastian and consider Jace’s death collateral damage. So it’s up to the Shadowhunters and their allies to try to find a way to unbind the two boys. That includes raising a powerful demon, and when that fails, raising an angel, which is an even more dangerous proposition. Meanwhile, Clary has caught up with Jace and Sebastian in a shadow world that no one else can access and no one else can even communicate with her. As she tries to understand the new Jace, she also must deal with the fact that Sebastian is her brother, and it disturbs her to see her behaviors and those of their mother mirrored in him. When Sebastian’s evil plan is finally revealed, Clary must make a decision that could save Jace, but it will most assuredly further Sebastian’s plan. Clare deftly sets the stage for the final installment in the “Mortal Instruments” series, in which all Hell is bound to break loose. Reviewer: Magi Evans; Ages 14 up.

Kirkus Reviews

What with the race to save Jace from the new Big Bad, wonderful secondary characters get short shrift. Clary's long-lost brother Sebastian, raised to be an evil overlord by their father (and Jace's foster father), has kidnapped Jace. While the many young (or young-appearing) protagonists want Jace back, only Clary swoons in constant self-absorption; her relationship angst, resolved two books ago, can't carry volume five the way it did earlier installments. The heroic, metaphysical and, yes, romantic travails of Simon, the daylight-walking, Jewish vampire with the Mark of Cain, would have made a more solid core for a second trilogy then Clary's continuing willingness to put her boyfriend ahead of the survival of the entire planet. The narrative zips from one young protagonist to another, as they argue with the werewolf council, summon angels and demons, fight the "million little paper cuts" of homophobia, and always, always negotiate sexual tension thick enough to cut with an iratze. Only the Clary perspective drags, focusing on her wardrobe instead of her character development, while the faux-incestuous vibes of earlier volumes give way to the real thing. The action once again climaxes in a tense, lush battle sequence just waiting for digital cinematic treatment. Clever prose is sprinkled lightly with Buffy-esque quips ("all the deadly sins....Greed, envy, gluttony, irony, pedantry, lust, and spanking"). Fans of the familiar will find this an unchallenging goth-and-glitter pleasure. (Fantasy. 13-16)

Cassandra Clare is the author of the #1 New York Times, USA TODAY, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Mortal Instruments series and the Infernal Devices trilogy, and coauthor of the Bane Chronicles with Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson. She also wrote The Shadowhunter's Codex with her husband, Joshua Lewis. Her books have more than 35 million copies in print worldwide and have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. Cassandra lives in western Massachusetts. Visit her at CassandraClare.com. Learn more about the world of the Shadowhunters at Shadowhunters.com.

Read an Excerpt

1
THE LAST COUNCIL

“How much longer will the verdict take, do you think?” Clary asked. She had no idea how long they’d been waiting, but it felt like ten hours. There were no clocks in Isabelle’s black and hot-pink powder-puff bedroom, just piles of clothes, heaps of books, stacks of weapons, a vanity overflowing with sparkling makeup, used brushes, and open drawers spilling lacy slips, sheer tights, and feather boas. It had a certain backstage-at-La-Cage-aux-Folles design aesthetic, but over the past two weeks Clary had spent enough time among the glittering mess to have begun to find it comforting.

Isabelle, standing over by the window with Church in her arms, stroked the cat’s head absently. Church regarded her with baleful yellow eyes. Outside the window a November storm was in full bloom, rain streaking the windows like clear paint. “Not much longer,” she said slowly. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, which made her look younger, her dark eyes bigger. “Five minutes, probably.”

Clary, sitting on Izzy’s bed between a pile of magazines and a rattling stack of seraph blades, swallowed hard against the bitter taste in her throat. I’ll be back. Five minutes.

That had been the last thing she had said to the boy she loved more than anything else in the world. Now she thought it might be the last thing she would ever get to say to him.

Clary remembered the moment perfectly. The roof garden. The crystalline October night, the stars burning icy white against a cloudless black sky. The paving stones smeared with black runes, spattered with ichor and blood. Jace’s mouth on hers, the only warm thing in a shivering world. Clasping the Morgenstern ring around her neck. The love that moves the sun and all the other stars. Turning to look for him as the elevator took her away, sucking her back down into the shadows of the building. She had joined the others in the lobby, hugging her mother, Luke, Simon, but some part of her, as it always was, had still been with Jace, floating above the city on that rooftop, the two of them alone in the cold and brilliant electric city.

Maryse and Kadir had been the ones to get into the elevator to join Jace on the roof and to see the remains of Lilith’s ritual. It was another ten minutes before Maryse returned, alone. When the doors had opened and Clary had seen her face—white and set and frantic—she had known.

What had happened next had been like a dream. The crowd of Shadowhunters in the lobby had surged toward Maryse; Alec had broken away from Magnus, and Isabelle had leaped to her feet. White bursts of light cut through the darkness like the soft explosions of camera flashes at a crime scene as, one after another, seraph blades lit the shadows. Pushing her way forward, Clary heard the story in broken pieces—the rooftop garden was empty; Jace was gone. The glass coffin that had held Sebastian had been smashed open; glass was lying everywhere in fragments. Blood, still fresh, dripped down the pedestal on which the coffin had sat.

The Shadowhunters were making plans quickly, to spread out in a radius and search the area around the building. Magnus was there, his hands sparking blue, turning to Clary to ask if she had something of Jace’s they could track him with. Numbly, she gave him the Morgenstern ring and retreated into a corner to call Simon. She had only just closed the phone when the voice of a Shadowhunter rang out above the rest. “Tracking? That’ll work only if he’s still alive. With that much blood it’s not very likely—”

Somehow that was the last straw. Prolonged hypothermia, exhaustion, and shock took their toll, and she felt her knees give. Her mother caught her before she hit the ground. There was a dark blur after that. She woke up the next morning in her bed at Luke’s, sitting bolt upright with her heart going like a trip-hammer, sure she had had a nightmare.

As she struggled out of bed, the fading bruises on her arms and legs told a different story, as did the absence of her ring. Throwing on jeans and a hoodie, she staggered out into the living room to find Jocelyn, Luke, and Simon seated there with somber expressions on their faces. She didn’t even need to ask, but she did anyway: “Did they find him? Is he back?”

Jocelyn stood up. “Sweetheart, he’s still missing—”

“But not dead? They haven’t found a body?” She collapsed onto the couch next to Simon. “No—he’s not dead. I’d know.”

She remembered Simon holding her hand while Luke told her what they did know: that Jace was still gone, and so was Sebastian. The bad news was that the blood on the pedestal had been identified as Jace’s. The good news was that there was less of it than they had thought; it had mixed with the water from the coffin to give the impression of a greater volume of blood than there had really been. They now thought it was quite possible he had survived whatever had happened.

“But what happened?” she demanded.

Luke shook his head, blue eyes somber. “Nobody knows, Clary.”

Her veins felt as if her blood had been replaced with ice water. “I want to help. I want to do something. I don’t want to just sit here while Jace is missing.”

“You’ll tell them anything they want because they have the Mortal Sword.” There was despair in Jocelyn’s voice. “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry.”

And now, after two weeks of repetitive testimony, after scores of witnesses had been called, after she had held the Mortal Sword a dozen times, Clary sat in Isabelle’s bedroom and waited for the Council to rule on her fate. She couldn’t help but remember what it had felt like to hold the Mortal Sword. It was like tiny fishhooks embedded in your skin, pulling the truth out of you. She had knelt, holding it, in the circle of the Speaking Stars and had heard her own voice telling the Council everything: how Valentine had raised the Angel Raziel, and how she had taken the power of controlling the Angel from him by erasing his name in the sand and writing hers over it. She had told them how the Angel had offered her one wish, and she had used it to raise Jace from the dead; she told them how Lilith had possessed Jace and Lilith had planned to use Simon’s blood to resurrect Sebastian, Clary’s brother, whom Lilith regarded as a son. How Simon’s Mark of Cain had ended Lilith, and they had thought Sebastian had been ended too, no longer a threat.

Clary sighed and flipped her phone open to check the time. “They’ve been in there for an hour,” she said. “Is that normal? Is it a bad sign?”

Isabelle dropped Church, who let out a yowl. She came over to the bed and sat down beside Clary. Isabelle looked even more slender than usual—like Clary, she’d lost weight in the past two weeks—but elegant as always, in black cigarette pants and a fitted gray velvet top. Mascara was smudged all around Izzy’s eyes, which should have made her look like a racoon but just made her look like a French film star instead. She stretched her arms out, and her electrum bracelets with their rune charms jingled musically. “No, it’s not a bad sign,” she said. “It just means they have a lot to talk over.” She twisted the Lightwood ring on her finger. “You’ll be fine. You didn’t break the Law. That’s the important thing.”

Clary sighed. Even the warmth of Isabelle’s shoulder next to hers couldn’t melt the ice in her veins. She knew that technically she had broken no Laws, but she also knew the Clave was furious at her. It was illegal for a Shadowhunter to raise the dead, but not for the Angel to do it; nevertheless it was such an enormous thing she had done in asking for Jace’s life back that she and Jace had agreed to tell no one about it.

Now it was out, and it had rocked the Clave. Clary knew they wanted to punish her, if only because her choice had had such disastrous consequences. In some way she wished they would punish her. Break her bones, pull her fingernails out, let the Silent Brothers root through her brain with their bladed thoughts. A sort of devil’s bargain—her own pain for Jace’s safe return. It would have helped her guilt over having left Jace behind on that rooftop, even though Isabelle and the others had told her a hundred times she was being ridiculous—that they had all thought he was perfectly safe there, and that if Clary had stayed, she would probably now be missing too.

“Quit it,” Isabelle said. For a moment Clary wasn’t sure if Isabelle was talking to her or to the cat. Church was doing what he often did when dropped—lying on his back with all four legs in the air, pretending to be dead in order to induce guilt in his owners. But then Isabelle swept her black hair aside, glaring, and Clary realized she was the one being told off, not the cat.

“Quit what?”

“Morbidly thinking about all the horrible things that are going to happen to you, or that you wish would happen to you because you’re alive and Jace is… missing.” Isabelle’s voice jumped, like a record skipping a groove. She never spoke of Jace as being dead or even gone—she and Alec refused to entertain the possibility. And Isabelle had never reproached Clary once for keeping such an enormous secret. Throughout everything, in fact, Isabelle had been her staunchest defender. Meeting her every day at the door to the Council Hall, she had held Clary firmly by the arm as she’d marched her past clumps of glaring, muttering Shadowhunters. She had waited through endless Council interrogations, shooting dagger glances at anyone who dared look at Clary sideways. Clary had been astonished. She and Isabelle had never been enormously close, both of them being the sort of girls who were more comfortable with boys than other female companionship. But Isabelle didn’t leave her side. Clary was as bewildered as she was grateful.

“I can’t help it,” Clary said. “If I were allowed to patrol—if I were allowed to do anything—I think it wouldn’t be so bad.”

“I don’t know.” Isabelle sounded weary. For the past two weeks she and Alec had been exhausted and gray-faced from sixteen-hour patrols and searches. When Clary had found out she was banned from patrolling or searching for Jace in any way until the Council decided what to do about the fact that she had brought him back from the dead, she had kicked a hole in her bedroom door. “Sometimes it feels so futile,” Isabelle added.

Ice crackled up and down Clary’s bones. “You mean you think he’s dead?”

“No, I don’t. I mean I think there’s no way they’re still in New York.”

“But they’re patrolling in other cities, right?” Clary put a hand to her throat, forgetting that the Morgenstern ring no longer hung there. Magnus was still trying to track Jace, though no tracking had yet worked.

“Of course they are.” Isabelle reached out curiously and touched the delicate silver bell that hung around Clary’s neck now, in place of the ring. “What’s that?”

Clary hesitated. The bell had been a gift from the Seelie Queen. No, that wasn’t quite right. The Queen of the faeries didn’t give gifts. The bell was meant to signal the Seelie Queen that Clary wanted her help. Clary had found her hand wandering to it more and more often as the days dragged on with no sign of Jace. The only thing that stopped Clary was the knowledge that the Seelie Queen never gave anything without the expectation of something terrible in return.

Before Clary could reply to Isabelle, the door opened. Both girls sat up ramrod straight, Clary clutching one of Izzy’s pink pillows so hard that the rhinestones on it dug into the skin of her palms.

“Hey.” A slim figure stepped into the room and shut the door. Alec, Isabelle’s older brother, was dressed in Council wear—a black robe figured with silver runes, open now over jeans and a long-sleeved black T-shirt. All the black made his pale skin look paler, his crystal-blue eyes bluer. His hair was black and straight like his sister’s, but shorter, cut just above his jawline. His mouth was set in a thin line.

It was Isabelle who spoke. “How did it go?” she said quietly. “What’s the verdict?”

Alec sat down at the vanity table, swinging himself around the chair to face Izzy and Clary over the back. At another time it would have been comical—Alec was very tall, with long legs like a dancer, and the way he folded himself awkwardly around the chair made it look like dollhouse furniture.

“Clary,” he said. “Jia Penhallow handed down the verdict. You’re cleared of any wrongdoing. You broke no Laws, and Jia feels that you’ve been punished enough.”

Isabelle exhaled an audible breath and smiled. For just a moment a feeling of relief broke through the layer of ice over all of Clary’s emotions. She wasn’t going to be punished, locked up in the Silent City, trapped somewhere where she couldn’t help Jace. Luke, who as the representative of the werewolves on the Council had been present for the verdict, had promised to call Jocelyn as soon as the meeting ended, but Clary reached for her phone anyway; the prospect of giving her mother good news for a change was too tempting.

“Clary,” Alec said as she flipped her phone open. “Wait.”

She looked at him. His expression was still as serious as an undertaker’s. With a sudden sense of foreboding, Clary put her phone back down on the bed. “Alec—what is it?”

“It wasn’t your verdict that took the Council so long,” said Alec. “There was another matter under discussion.”

The ice was back. Clary shivered. “Jace?”

“Not exactly.” Alec leaned forward, folding his hands along the back of the chair. “A report came in early this morning from the Moscow Institute. The wardings over Wrangel Island were smashed through yesterday. They’ve sent a repair team, but having such important wards down for so long—that’s a Council priority.”

Wards—which served, as Clary understood it, as a sort of magical fence system—surrounded Earth, put there by the first generation of Shadowhunters. They could be bypassed by demons but not easily, and kept out the vast majority of them, preventing the world from being flooded by a massive demon invasion. She remembered something that Jace had said to her, what felt like years ago: There used to be only small demon invasions into this world, easily contained. But even in my lifetime more and more of them have spilled in through the wardings.

“Well, that’s bad,” Clary said. “But I don’t see what it has to do with—”

“The Clave has its priorities,” Alec interrupted. “Searching for Jace and Sebastian has been top priority for the past two weeks. But they’ve scoured everything, and there’s no sign of either of them in any Downworld haunt. None of Magnus’s tracking spells have worked. Elodie, the woman who brought up the real Sebastian Verlac, confirmed that no one’s tried to get in touch with her. That was a long shot, anyway. No spies have reported any unusual activity among the known members of Valentine’s old Circle. And the Silent Brothers haven’t been able to figure out exactly what the ritual Lilith performed was supposed to do, or whether it succeeded. The general consensus is that Sebastian—of course, they call him Jonathan when they talk about him—kidnapped Jace, but that’s not anything we didn’t know.”

“So?” Isabelle said. “What does that mean? More searching? More patrolling?”

Alec shook his head. “They’re not discussing expanding the search,” he said quietly. “They’re de-prioritizing it. It’s been two weeks and they haven’t found anything. The specially commissioned groups brought over from Idris are going to be sent home. The situation with the ward is taking priority now. Not to mention that the Council has been in the middle of delicate negotiations, updating the Laws to allow for the new makeup of the Council, appointing a new Consul and Inquisitor, determining different treatment of Downworlders—they don’t want to be thrown completely off track.”

Clary stared. “They don’t want Jace’s disappearance to throw them off the track of changing a bunch of stupid old Laws? They’re giving up?”

“They’re not giving up—”

“Alec,” Isabelle said sharply.

Alec took a breath and put his hands up to cover his face. He had long fingers, like Jace’s, scarred like Jace’s were as well. The eye Mark of the Shadowhunters decorated the back of his right hand. “Clary, for you—for us—this has always been about searching for Jace. For the Clave it’s about searching for Sebastian. Jace as well, but primarily Sebastian. He’s the danger. He destroyed the wards of Alicante. He’s a mass murderer. Jace is…”

“Just another Shadowhunter,” said Isabelle. “We die and go missing all the time.”

“He gets a little extra for being a hero of the Mortal War,” said Alec. “But in the end the Clave was clear: The search will be kept up, but right now it’s a waiting game. They expect Sebastian to make the next move. In the meantime it’s third priority for the Clave. If that. They expect us to go back to normal life.”

Normal life? Clary couldn’t believe it. A normal life without Jace?

“That’s what they told us after Max died,” said Izzy, her black eyes tearless but burning with anger. “That we’d get over our grief faster if we just went back to normal life.”

“It’s supposed to be good advice,” said Alec from behind his fingers.

“Tell that to Dad. Did he even come back from Idris for the meeting?”

Alec shook his head, dropping his hands. “No. If it’s any consolation, there were a lot of people at the meeting speaking out angrily on behalf of keeping the search for Jace up at full strength. Magnus, obviously, Luke, Consul Penhallow, even Brother Zachariah. But at the end of the day it wasn’t enough.”

Clary looked at him steadily. “Alec,” she said. “Don’t you feel anything?”

Alec’s eyes widened, their blue darkening, and for a moment Clary remembered the boy who had hated her when she’d first arrived at the Institute, the boy with bitten nails and holes in his sweaters and a chip on his shoulder that had seemed immovable. “I know you’re upset, Clary,” he said, his voice sharp, “but if you’re suggesting that Iz and I care less about Jace than you do—”

“I’m not,” Clary said. “I’m talking about your parabatai connection. I was reading about the ceremony in the Codex. I know being parabatai ties the two of you together. You can sense things about Jace. Things that will help you when you’re fighting. So I guess I mean… can you sense if he’s still alive?”

“Clary.” Isabelle sounded worried. “I thought you didn’t…”

“He’s alive,” Alec said cautiously. “You think I’d be this functional if he weren’t alive? There’s definitely something fundamentally wrong. I can feel that much. But he’s still breathing.”

“Could the ‘wrong’ thing be that he’s being held prisoner?” said Clary in a small voice.

“Clary… if that were possible… don’t you think we already would have—,” Alec began.

“We were doing what the Clave wanted us to do before,” said Isabelle. “Patrols, searches. There are other ways.”

“Ways that break the Law, you mean,” said Alec. He sounded hesitant. Clary hoped he wasn’t going to repeat the Shadowhunters’ motto when it came to the Law: Sed lex, dura lex. “The Law is harsh, but it is the Law.” She didn’t think she could take it.

“The Seelie Queen offered me a favor,” Clary said. “At the fireworks party in Idris.” The memory of that night, how happy she’d been, made her heart contract for a moment, and she had to stop and regain her breath. “And a way to contact her.”

“The Queen of the Fair Folk gives nothing for free.”

“I know that. I’ll take whatever debt it is on my shoulders.” Clary remembered the words of the faerie girl who had handed her the bell. You would do anything to save him, whatever it cost you, whatever you might owe to Hell or Heaven, would you not? “I just want one of you to come with me. I’m not good with translating faerie-speak. At least if you’re with me you can limit whatever the damage is. But if there’s anything she can do—”

“I’ll go with you,” Isabelle said immediately.

Alec looked at his sister darkly. “We already talked to the Fair Folk. The Council questioned them extensively. And they can’t lie.”

“The Council asked them if they knew where Jace and Sebastian were,” Clary said. “Not if they’d be willing to look for them. The Seelie Queen knew about my father, knew about the angel he summoned and trapped, knew the truth about my blood and Jace’s. I think there’s not much that happens in this world that she doesn’t know about.”

“It’s true,” said Isabelle, a little animation entering into her voice. “You know you have to ask faeries the exact right things to get useful information out of them, Alec. They’re very hard to question, even if they do have to tell the truth. A favor, though, is different.”

“And its potential for danger is literally unlimited,” said Alec. “If Jace knew I let Clary go to the Seelie Queen, he’d—”

“I don’t care,” Clary said. “He’d do it for me. Tell me he wouldn’t. If I were missing—”

“He’d burn the whole world down till he could dig you out of the ashes. I know,” Alec said, sounding exhausted. “Hell, you think I don’t want to burn down the world right now? I’m just trying to be…”

“An older brother,” said Isabelle. “I get it.”

Alec looked as if he were fighting for control. “If something happened to you, Isabelle—after Max, and Jace—”

Izzy got to her feet, went across the room, and put her arms around Alec. Their dark hair, precisely the same color, mixed together as Isabelle whispered something into her brother’s ear; Clary watched them with not a little envy. She had always wanted a brother. And she had one now. Sebastian. It was like always wanting a puppy for a pet and being handed a hellhound instead. She watched as Alec tugged his sister’s hair affectionately, nodded, and released her. “We should all go,” he said. “But I have to tell Magnus, at least, what we’re doing. It wouldn’t be fair not to.”

“Do you want to use my phone?” Isabelle asked, offering the battered pink object to him.

Alec shook his head. “He’s waiting downstairs with the others. You’ll have to give Luke some kind of excuse too, Clary. I’m sure he’s expecting you to go home with him. And he says your mother’s been pretty sick about this whole thing.”

“She blames herself for Sebastian’s existence.” Clary got to her feet. “Even though she thought he was dead all those years.”

“It’s not her fault.” Isabelle pulled her golden whip down from where it hung on the wall and wrapped it around her wrist so that it looked like a ladder of shining bracelets. “No one blames her.”

“That never matters,” said Alec. “Not when you blame yourself.”

In silence, the three of them made their way through the corridors of the Institute, oddly crowded now with other Shadowhunters, some of whom were part of the special commissions that had been sent out from Idris to deal with the situation. None of them really looked at Isabelle, Alec, or Clary with much curiosity. Initially Clary had felt so much as if she were being stared at—and had heard the whispered words “Valentine’s daughter” so many times—that she’d started to dread coming to the Institute, but she’d stood up in front of the Council enough times now that the novelty had worn off.

They took the elevator downstairs; the nave of the Institute was brightly lit with witchlight as well as the usual tapers and was filled with Council members and their families. Luke and Magnus were sitting in a pew, talking to each other; beside Luke was a tall, blue-eyed woman who looked just like him. She had curled her hair and dyed the gray brown, but Clary still recognized her—Luke’s sister, Amatis.

Magnus got up at the sight of Alec and came over to talk to him; Izzy appeared to recognize someone else across the pews and darted away in her usual manner, without pausing to say where she was going. Clary went to greet Luke and Amatis; both of them looked tired, and Amatis was patting Luke’s shoulder sympathetically. Luke rose to his feet and hugged Clary when he saw her. Amatis congratulated Clary on being cleared by the Council, and she nodded; she felt only half-there, most of her numb and the rest of her responding on autopilot.

She could see Magnus and Alec out of the corner of her eye. They were talking, Alec leaning in close to Magnus, the way couples often seemed to curve into each other when they spoke, in their own contained universe. She was happy to see them happy, but it hurt, too. She wondered if she would ever have that again, or ever even want it again. She remembered Jace’s voice: I don’t even want to want anyone but you.

“Earth to Clary,” said Luke. “Do you want to head home? Your mother is dying to see you, and she’d love to catch up with Amatis before she goes back to Idris tomorrow. I thought we could have dinner. You pick the restaurant.” He was trying to hide the concern in his voice, but Clary could hear it. She hadn’t been eating much lately, and her clothes had started to hang more loosely on her frame.

“I don’t really feel like celebrating,” she said. “Not with the Council de-prioritizing the search for Jace.”

“Clary, it doesn’t mean they’re going to stop,” said Luke.

“I know. It’s just—It’s like when they say a search and rescue mission is now a search for bodies. That’s what it sounds like.” She swallowed. “Anyway, I was thinking of going to Taki’s for dinner with Isabelle and Alec,” she said. “Just… to do something normal.”

Clary felt her lips stretch into a smile. She wondered if it looked as false as it felt. “I won’t melt.”

Luke folded some money into her hand, clearly relieved she was doing something as normal as going out with friends. “Just promise to eat something.”

“Okay.” Through the twinge of guilt, she managed a real half smile in his direction before she turned away.

Magnus and Alec were no longer where they had been a moment ago. Glancing around, Clary saw Izzy’s familiar long black hair through the crowd. She was standing by the Institute’s large double doors, talking to someone Clary couldn’t see. Clary headed toward Isabelle; as she drew closer, she recognized one of the group, with a slight shock of surprise, as Aline Penhallow. Her glossy black hair had been cut stylishly just above her shoulders. Standing next to Aline was a slim girl with pale white-gold hair that curled in ringlets; it was drawn back from her face, showing that the tips of her ears were slightly pointed. She wore Council robes, and as Clary came closer she saw that the girl’s eyes were a brilliant and unusual blue-green, a color that made Clary’s fingers yearn for her Prismacolor pencils for the first time in two weeks.

“It must be weird, with your mother being the new Consul,” Isabelle was saying to Aline as Clary joined them. “Not that Jia isn’t much better than—Hey, Clary. Aline, you remember Clary.”

The two girls exchanged nods. Clary had once walked in on Aline kissing Jace. It had been awful at the time, but the memory held no sting now. She’d be relieved to walk in on Jace kissing someone else at this point. At least it would mean he was alive.

“And this is Aline’s girlfriend, Helen Blackthorn.” Isabelle said with heavy emphasis. Clary shot her a glare. Did Isabelle think she was an idiot? Besides, she remembered Aline telling her that she’d kissed Jace only as an experiment to see if any guy were her type. Apparently the answer had been no. “Helen’s family runs the Los Angeles Institute. Helen, this is Clary Fray.”

“Sorry. I can see why you wouldn’t.” Helen flushed. Her skin was very pale, with a slight sheen to it, like a pearl. “I voted for the Council to keep prioritizing the search for Jace, by the way. I’m sorry we were overruled.”

“Thanks.” Not wanting to talk about it, Clary turned to Aline. “Congratulations on your mother being made Consul. That must be pretty exciting.”

Aline shrugged. “She’s busy a lot more now.” She turned to Isabelle. “Did you know your dad put his name in for the Inquisitor position?”

Clary felt Isabelle freeze beside her. “No. No, I didn’t know that.”

“I was surprised,” Aline added. “I thought he was pretty committed to running the Institute here—” She broke off, looking past Clary. “Helen, I think your brother is trying to make the world’s biggest puddle of melted wax over there. You might want to stop him.”

Helen blew out an exasperated breath, muttered something about twelve-year-old boys, and vanished into the crowd just as Alec pushed his way forward. He greeted Aline with a hug—Clary forgot, sometimes, that the Penhallows and the Lightwoods had known each other for years—and looked at Helen in the crowd. “Is that your girlfriend?”

Aline nodded. “Helen Blackthorn.”

“I heard there’s some faerie blood in that family,” said Alec.

Ah, Clary thought. That explained the pointed ears. Nephilim blood was dominant, and the child of a faerie and a Shadowhunter would be a Shadowhunter as well, but sometimes the faerie blood could express itself in odd ways, even generations down the line.

“A little,” said Aline. “Look, I wanted to thank you, Alec.”

Alec looked bewildered. “What for?’

“What you did in the Hall of Accords,” Aline said. “Kissing Magnus like that. It gave me the push I needed to tell my parents… to come out to them. And if I hadn’t done that, I don’t think, when I met Helen, I would have had the nerve to say anything.”

“Oh.” Alec looked startled, as if he’d never considered what impact his actions might have had on anyone outside his immediate family. “And your parents—were they good about it?”

Aline rolled her eyes. “They’re sort of ignoring it, like it might go away if they don’t talk about it.” Clary remembered what Isabelle had said about the Clave’s attitude toward its gay members. If it happens, you don’t talk about it. “But it could be worse.”

“It could definitely be worse,” said Alec, and there was a grim edge to his voice that made Clary look at him sharply.

“Well, either way. I shouldn’t have said anything right now. Not with Jace missing. You must all be so worried.” She took a deep breath. “I know people have probably said all sorts of stupid things to you about him. The way they do when they don’t really know what to say. I just—I wanted to tell you something.” She ducked away from a passer-by with impatience and moved closer to the Lightwoods and Clary, lowering her voice. “Alec, Izzy—I remember once when you guys came to see us in Idris. I was thirteen and Jace was—I think he was twelve. He wanted to see Brocelind Forest, so we borrowed some horses and rode there one day. Of course, we got lost. Brocelind’s impenetrable. It got darker and the woods got thicker and I was terrified. I thought we’d die there. But Jace was never scared. He was never anything but sure we’d find our way out. It took hours, but he did it. He got us out of there. I was so grateful but he just looked at me like I was crazy. Like of course he’d get us out. Failing wasn’t an option. I’m just saying—he’ll find his way back to you. I know it.”

Clary didn’t think she’d ever seen Izzy cry, and she was clearly trying not to now. Her eyes were suspiciously wide and shining. Alec was looking at his shoes. Clary felt a wellspring of misery wanting to leap up inside her but forced it down; she couldn’t think about Jace when he was twelve, couldn’t think about him lost in the darkness, or she’d think about him now, lost somewhere, trapped somewhere, needing her help, expecting her to come, and she’d break. “Aline,” she said, seeing that neither Isabelle nor Alec could speak. “Thank you.”

Aline flashed a shy smile. “I mean it.”

“Aline!” It was Helen, her hand firmly clamped around the wrist of a younger boy whose hands were covered with blue wax. He must have been playing with the tapers in the huge candelabras that decorated the sides of the nave. He looked about twelve, with an impish grin and the same shocking blue-green eyes as his sister, though his hair was dark brown. “We’re back. We should probably go before Jules destroys the whole place. Not to mention that I have no idea where Tibs and Livvy have gone.”

Jules looked from Alec to Isabelle and then at Clary. “How many brothers and sisters have you got?” he asked.

Helen paled. Isabelle said, in a remarkably steady voice, “There are three of us.”

Jules’s eyes stayed on Clary. “You don’t look alike.”

“I’m not related to them,” Clary said. “I don’t have any brothers or sisters.”

“None?” Disbelief registered in the boy’s tone, as if she’d told him she had webbed feet. “Is that why you look so sad?”

Clary thought of Sebastian, with his ice-white hair and black eyes. If only, she thought. If only I didn’t have a brother, none of this would have happened. A little throb of hatred went through her, warming her icy blood. “Yes,” she said softly. “That’s why I’m sad.”

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TMI is back on track!

City of Lost Souls is not as good as City of Bones, City of Ashes or City of Glass. Sorry.
City of Lost Souls is better than City of Fallen Angels. You're welcome.

The story picks up right where Fallen Angels left off. You remember? That horrific cliff hanger that the wonderful Ms. Clare made us all so angry with. Jace and Sebastian have vanished. Clary and the Scooby pals are distraught and the Clave has launched a search, though more for Sebastian than for Jace.

The tale skips around from person to person quite often. You know what is happening with Clary, Simon, Izzy, Alec and Magnus, and even Maia and Jordan get good coverage. It became less and less the story of Clary & Jace the star-crossed lovers. It became everyone's story. Jace actually gets less play in this installment than any other.

So, if you are a Jace fan (like me), you may be disappointed. I wasn't. Jace was obnoxious. I like him broody and egotistical. Not brain dead and carefree. Which is the effect Sebastian has on him. I was all right with the lack of Jace.

On the other hand, if you are a Simon fan, you may get great satisfaction here. Simon was less whiny, in my opinion. Still just as hilarious as always. He is finding out where he belongs and with who (wink, wink), who cares for him, where his relationships lie and what his place in the Shadowhunter world is. Maybe he isn't the outsider he thought he was, only linked by his long friendship with Clary.

I know there are many, many Magnus fans out there so he earns a mention, right? Magnus, as always, delivers. There seems to be no end to the sacrifices he is willing to make for this band of misfit demon killers. Especially where Alec is concerned. Or is there a limit? You'll have to read the book to find out what the heck I am talking about!

There are so many love stories taking place simultaneously here, romance fans will be drooling over it. But, for me, that was the downfall. So much lovey lovey, not enough fight fight. I expected a big epic battle to save Jace's soul. There was a battle. It wasn't very epic. There was a moment that reminded me of the most memorable Buffy/Angel moment. I apologize to those who won't get the reference. But we will have to wait for City of Heavenly Fire for this epic battle. Since it is earmarked for release in spring of 2014...it's going to be a long wait.

All in all it's a good read for TMI fans. It actually renewed my love for the series and I think I will be revisiting each book before the release of the final installment.

114 out of 128 people found this review helpful.

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honestlyleila

Posted October 11, 2011

OMG CANT WAIT!!!!!!

I absolutely adore this series and i truly thought that it was over after the city of glass but then cassandra clare came back with a whole new set of bad guys and plot twists and yet more reasons for clary and jace not to be together happily. This series is one of my top picks and this book will be in my bag the day it comes out!!!!!

72 out of 86 people found this review helpful.

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enticed

Posted May 11, 2012

I Also Recommend:

LOVED THIS BOOK

I enjoyed this book! Bought it yesterday, finished it in a couple of hours later. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

71 out of 78 people found this review helpful.

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JennRenaeMcCoy

Posted May 21, 2012

Best TMI Yet!!!

In City of Lost Souls, there'll be hell to pay
The Shadowhunters' world is in disarray.
The reality is blurred between friends and foes,
And in this game of hmmm....love? anything goes.

For Jace is lost and his will is on loan
And if Clary's not careful, all will be blown.
Will their love be strong enough to withstand
The pain and destruction from Sebastian's hand?

And then there is Simon, with the Mark of Cain,
Will he be Heaven or Hell's, and can he be slain?
And Isabelle Lightwood who stole Simon's heart,
Will losing Max and then Jace tear her apart?

And what about Alec who loves Magnus Bane,
Is immortality possible for him to obtain?
Or will he grow old and thus wither away,
Perhaps he should bargain with the Queen of the Fae.

To burn down the world is Sebastian's goal,
But even more, he wants his sister's soul.
To make her love him is his greatest need
Through blood and death, will he succeed?

Through broken hearts and minds and dangers untold,
For fighting heaven and hell, they will pay tenfold.
At the end of day, they must all stand and fight,
Or else they fall victim to Sebastian's dark might.

This is the BEST book in the Mortal Instruments series!!! I read it in one day, and then I went back and read and re-read my favorite parts--there were quite a few! I'm actually tempted to stop writing right now and go re-read them again!!!

You know how there are certain moments that change your life? Well, reading City of Lost Souls was one of those (okay...so much more than a moment, but still) moments! I was swept away into Cassie's world--if only I could live there permanently.

Okay...so most people who are going to read this book already love Cassie Clare and TMI, so I'm just going to go with a few reasons why you should read this RIGHT AWAY! (We'll do a countdown)

5. I love when the Fae interfere--I mean, they are just so cunningly evil! Anytime the Queen is around, you know you are in for something dark and twisty!

4. We get to see into Magnus's world! His world is quirky and fun, but with an air of mystery and danger. It divides the line between good and evil, and it's nice to ride that line with the warlock. Magnus has been in so many of Cassie's books, but I really love seeing him get personal in this one!

3. I love the world that Sebastian, Jace, and Clary get swept away in. I won't say much because it would be too spoilery, but there was so much grey there that I didn't know who to trust--and I didn't care! I just wanted more!

2. Sebastian is the absolute best villain ever! I mean--bold statement coming--I think I like him better than Voldemort! (Please don't strike me with a lightning bolt...) He's charming and sexy and manipulative, but I just can't help but have a weird crush on him! There is nothing better than a hot villain!

1. Jace--of course! Even though he's not the Jace we all remember, he is still to die for! He's just as sexy, just as scandalous--even more so because Sebastian's pulling the strings, and just as kick butt! I date you not to completely fall in love with him!

So...if my wonderful poem didn't convince you and my wonderful countdown did not convince you, then I have to conclude that you are just crazy! May Jace's stele strike you down!

57 out of 60 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted November 14, 2011

Cant wait, !!

This series is, by far, the BEST SERIES everrr !!!! IM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITIEDDDD FOR IT TO COME OUTTTT !!

cant wait to read more about jace <3

43 out of 69 people found this review helpful.

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tas1396

Posted October 23, 2011

KK

I really loved how cassandra ended city of glass, and i thought it was over and i was sad but ok with it. Than she came out with another book and i didn't like how that one ended, i kinda feel shes dragging the series. I hope this next one is interesting.

32 out of 80 people found this review helpful.

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Nishes

Posted October 27, 2011

YES IT'S WORTH READING!!!

I really love this series, I'm so excited to see that there's a 5th book on the way, it kills me that I have to wait until May to read it. I found the first book at my local library by random chance and I was hooked, from riding around to all the libraries in my area to get the next copy to waiting on lists for my chance to read it. I've bought em all now and I'd recommend it as a great read to anyone.

31 out of 46 people found this review helpful.

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young-at-heartJS

Posted October 21, 2011

Awesome Series

Cassandra Clare does an awesome job keeping you guessing what will happen next...This is no exception..Will definitely keep on my best buy list for 2012.

26 out of 33 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 8, 2012

OMG IM DYING!!!!!! LITERALLY!!!!!

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT TIL MAY!!!!!!!!! ITS NOT POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!! OMG THIS SERIES IS ABSOLUTELY MY FAVORITE!!!!! I CANT WAIT THIS LONG!!! KILLL ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

24 out of 51 people found this review helpful.

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Can NOT wait!!

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Abby28

Posted October 18, 2011

For the love of all things beautiful, READ THIS BOOK!

Literally 2 pages into City of Bones was when I got obsessed. My favorite series for sure!!! I'm so excited but so sad that we have to wait another 7 months. I love how she writes; it's like you really love the romance parts (this is coming from a girl to a girl), and then in between you are forced to read the adventure and mystery and thrilling parts. ITS SO ADDICTING!! I absolutely loved it and read the first four in about 5 days. I suggested it to my cousin and he liked it a lot too. This book is really for any girl or guy looking for an exciting read.

22 out of 26 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted November 14, 2011

Seven months?!

Why can't it be released sooner?! D: Only a month until Clockwork Prince, though! :)

16 out of 29 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 28, 2012

ADDICTED TO THE SERIES!!!!!!!

Cassandra clare is an AMAZING auther!!!!!!!!

15 out of 23 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 16, 2012

Why is she writing more?

I dont understand why she didnt end with City of Glass. I think that these extra books are boring. I think shes trying to drag it on and on but is going too far.

14 out of 73 people found this review helpful.

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i cant wait

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Anonymous

Posted October 11, 2011

I can't wait!

I was introduced to this series after reading Clockwork Angel of hers and I couldn't wait for Clockwork Prince to be released (can't wait for that either!) So I read this series and after the third book I thought it was over but she came out with the fourth in the series and it was really good, the characters are different almost and still progressing and a few new ones were introduced and new antagonists were introduced so I can't wait to see what will happen with them. Also the last book ended on a cliff hanger so this book better come out soon! :) This series would be for people who are looking for an adventure, kind of action-y book with some romance and humor thrown in. (Read the first four first, though. :) )

11 out of 16 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted February 26, 2012

This series is AMAZING MUST READ!!!!!!!

This series combines action, love, and suspense all in one book to thewhole intire series. The series is absolutly amazing i recomend to to all my friends. And they always coming back to me and say man you were right this series is amazing!!!! I am so addicted now. So if you want a romance novel filled with action and suspence this is your book!

10 out of 15 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 5, 2012

Best series ever

Just cant wait until this book comes out. Cassandra Clare is one of the best author of this generation. Please May come fast we need to read this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10 out of 17 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted December 5, 2011

OMG!!!!!!

I CANNOT WAIT FORTHE BOOK TO COME OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FIRST DAY OF EVEERYY MONTH! I LOOK FOR THE NEXT TEASER!!!!! JONATHAN CHRISTOPHER MORGENSTERN IS THE BEST BEING TO EVER WALK THE PLANET OF BOOKS!!!!!!!! I DREAM ABOUT THAT KID!!!!!!! SO IS HE GOOD NOW???? HE SOUNDS GOOD IN THE TEASERS!!!!!! PERSONALLY I THINK HE IS PERFECT THE WAY HE IS, NO GOODNESS NEEDS TO REPLACE HIS EVILNESS! THOUGH IM SURE ILL LIKE HIM EITHER WAY!!!!!!! GO CASSANDRA CLARE! YOU ARE MY IDOL!!!!! IM A WRITER PARTIALLY BECAUSE SHE IS A GODDESS AND IMSPIRED ME! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10 out of 26 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted March 2, 2012

so excited!

I absolutely love this series. I have read the books over and over again, and I'm the type who can't read a book more than once. However, I'm not all too thrilled about there being another book after this one. I just want a satisfying ending already, and to not have to wait forever to see what happens next. It's getting tiring

9 out of 17 people found this review helpful.

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